This paper discusses the development of a solar thermal power system for oxygen production from lunar regolith. In this solar thermal system, solar radiation is collected by the concentrator array which transfers the concentrated solar radiation to the optical waveguide (OW) transmission line made of low loss optical fibers. The OW transmission line directs the solar radiation to the thermal receiver for thermochemical processing of lunar regolith for oxygen production on the lunar surface. We report the results pertaining to: (1) component development status; (2) regolith melting capability; (3) system efficiency; and (4) system weight. Conceptual designs of the solar thermal system for two lunar oxygen production processes are presented.

Topics
Atmospheric radiation, Power electronics, Telecommunications engineering, Optical fibers, Optical waveguides, Chemical elements
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© 2008 American Institute of Physics.
2008
American Institute of Physics
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